Mental Health

Psychological Trauma Case Study: Healing a Survivor of Domestic Abuse at Jagruti Rehab

Written By

Dr. Amar Shinde

Last Updated on: 12 Jul 2025

Patient Information:

• Age: 32
• Gender: Female
• Background: The patient, referred to here as "Aditi" for confidentiality, is a 32-year-old woman who has been dealing with the effects of psychological trauma due to sustained domestic abuse. She is educated and works as a graphic designer.
• Personal Situation: Aditi has two (2) young children and had spent over eight (8) years in an abusive marriage before she was able to separate. She had experienced multiple incidents of emotional, physical, verbal, and psychological abuse that caused her considerable psychic trauma.

History or Cause:

Aditi had a trauma history, but her trauma history began when she got married, and her husband's controlling and violent behaviours developed. The abuse began with emotional manipulation, progressed incrementally to physical violence, then to even more extreme verbal violence regularly. Aditi made efforts to seek help, but having to meet societal expectations and being financially dependent on her husband allowed her to remain in this cycle of toxic abuse for many years. 

Aditi attempted to separate from her spouse on multiple occasions, but he either persuaded her back with the idea of change, or she was concerned with how it would affect her children. After many years feeling guilty, shameful, and stuck without hope, she was finally able to separate from her spouse. However, by this time, the emotional and psychological impact had taken its toll on her.

When Aditi arrived at Jagruti Rehab, she presented with symptoms related to severe anxiety, depression, intrusive flashbacks, and worthlessness. She also attached a distrust to people or emotions, which caused her to be emotionally neutral or numb at times, and she was consistently guarded. These behaviours are typical of an individual struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Symptoms of PTSD are a result of exposure to chronic trauma.

Diagnosis:

After the initial assessments at Jagruti Rehab, Aditi was diagnosed with:

• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): Symptoms of PTSD were expressed in the realm of intrusive memories that were persistent, recurrent dreams and flashbacks of her abusive marriage.
• Major Depressive Disorder (MDD): Symptoms of MDD, which included ongoing feelings of sadness, lack of interest in pleasure or daily activities, and repeated failure in the self-regulation of intimacy with people related to different domains of intimate closeness with people in her personal and work life.
• Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD): Symptoms of GAD were present in the form of persistent worry, restlessness, and physical tension.
• Attachment Issues: Aditi's early abuse had caused challenges with developing healthy relationships. 

Treatment:

The treatment plan of Jagruti Rehab was holistic and structured in a way that Aditi's needs were specifically addressed. Considering her traumatic past, the rehab team decided to go with a blended therapeutic approach to begin addressing her trauma, managing her anxiety and depression, and helping her rebuild her self-esteem. The treatment plan focused on three main pillars:

1. Trauma-Informed Care: This drew attention to the components of safety, trust and empowerment, and attended to Aditi's trauma history as well, noting all those important moments of when she felt heard, respected and nurtured in her ongoing healing.
2. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT): The aim was to try to identify and alter negative thinking, and help Aditi to reframe her view of herself and the world around her.
3. EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing): Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing therapy, in particular, was used to address Aditi's PTSD symptoms. EMDR helps a patient process and reduce the emotional charge attached to a traumatic memory; this allows the patient to integrate related memories more healthily.
4. Group Therapy: Aditi participated in group therapy, which consisted of a treatment group of other survivors of similar trauma and provided support, as well as an opportunity to share similar experiences and healing.
5. Art Therapy: Because of Aditi's graphic design background, we had discussed the potential of using art therapy approaches to encourage Aditi to express and process her emotions in a more non-verbal way.
6. Mindfulness and Relaxation Techniques: We discussed yoga, deep breathing exercises and guided meditations, and some of these were useful in situations when Aditi was trying to deal with her anxiety and stress.

Program:

Aditi's Aditi was given a rehabilitation plan through Jagruti Rehab, which was specifically to take small and manageable steps forward in her recovery:

• Week 1-2: Stabilisation phase. The aim was to create a safe environment from which Aditi could acclimatise to the centre, and also start to do her emotional work. Individual therapy sessions were guided to confront the immediate emotions of fear and depression, and to start establishing her trust with her therapists.
• Week 3-4: Starting trauma-informed group therapy, Aditi engaged in the start of sharing her experience with other survivors during the group discussions. The main goal was to begin addressing her feelings of isolation.
• Week 5-8: The individual cognitive behaviour therapy sessions increased in frequency. Aditi began to actively challenge her negative self-beliefs and began noting anxieties triggered by specific thoughts. There were also EMDR sessions to help her begin to process her traumatic memories.
• Week 9-12: Aditi continued to process her individual sessions, focusing on mindfulness strategies. She was healing and emotionally improving, and Aditi began to move toward advocating and asserting her wants and needs. The focus began to shift toward the goal of learning new strategies to cope with anxiety and to avert future depressive episodes.
• Week 13-16: Aditi was ready to transition her new skills to the community. Individual sessions continued, with family therapy added as Aditi worked to rebuild her relationship with her children and family.

Medical Treatments:

While Aditi's greatest objective was psychological recovery through therapy, medication was also provided as an adjunctive treatment modality to her anxiety and depression. Aditi was treated with the following medications: 

• Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs): Treating her anxiety and depression.
• Beta-blockers: Treating her periodic, transitory physical symptoms of anxiety (e.g., racing heart, tremors).

Improvements/Recovery Timeline:

• Week 1-2: Some early signs of stabilisation. Aditi had experienced less intense outbursts of emotion and slightly lower anxiety levels.
• Week 3-4: During group therapy, Aditi was beginning to open up more. She seemed to be trusting the process more as she realised she was not the only one struggling with similar issues.
• Week 5-8: Aditi made considerable progress in confronting and re-processing her traumatic memories. She had improved emotional regulation and had started to incorporate relaxation techniques that were introduced in therapy into her everyday life.
• Week 9-12: Aditi's PTSD symptoms were starting to remit, and her anxiety was noticeably more manageable.  Aditi reported she was beginning to have a sense of restored hope and purpose. In addition, her self-esteem improved, which assisted Aditi in addressing her feelings of guilt and shame.
• Week 13-16: Aditi's relationships with her children, in particular, were showing signs of healing. Aditi expressed greater confidence in her ability to co-parent and started to establish healthier boundaries with her ex-husband.

Our Success

Impact on Patient’s Life:

Aditi's recovery was nothing short of miraculous. By the time she finished her rehab program, Aditi felt greater emotional and reactive agency. While her trauma remained a part of her history, it no longer held the ultimate authority over her decisions, feelings, and thoughts. Aditi re-engaged her graphic design ambitions and was now with a purpose to build her stable income and passions. 

Family and Community:

Aditi's recovery was impactful for her family, predominantly with her children. Aditi established a transformed, positive and supportive relationship with her children, where they felt emotionally safe and loved by her. Aditi's connection to the community through supporting community support groups also had positive implications for the broader community. Aditi began to share her journey and experience with others struggling in similar stories of recovery. Aditi's story of resiliency allowed many of them a novel glimpse at how to incorporate resiliency in their families' narratives.

Future Steps:

Aditi's journey is still in the process of recovery. The long-term plan includes outpatient therapy (with monthly check-ins), and she is actively participating in local support groups for survivors of domestic violence/crime. to keep herself connected to a community that seeks to heal and empower. Aditi is now beginning to think of new opportunities for development more confidently, engaging in creative pursuits and self-care.

Dr. Amar Shinde

Dr. Amar Shinde, founder of Jagruti Rehab, is a renowned psychiatrist in India with over two decades of experience in mental health, addiction recovery, and neuropsychiatry, dedicated to holistic, compassionate patient care.